1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to label holders and relates more particularly to holders for electronic shelf label (“ESL”) devices generally mounted at the front of a merchandise shelf in a retail establishment to provide information regarding products carried by the shelf.
2. Description of Related Art
Consumer-oriented product information labels are commonly found in supermarkets, drug stores, and the like and provide purchasers with the unit price, promotional and nutritional information, and the like and, also, commonly include bar codes or other inventory control information for the use of the store personnel. Such information may be carried on paper or plastic labels secured directly to the side of a shelf unit or the front edge of a merchandise shelf, but the use of adhesively-backed labels has obvious disadvantages in the constantly changing commercial environment found in today's marketplace. More often, the front edge of the merchandise shelf is provided with an integral C-channel or the like which is adapted to either carry the labels directly or, alternatively, to carry plastic holders which are adapted to removably receive and display the labels in a well known manner. Label holders adapted for use in various environments will be seen in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,625,441, 4,716,669, 5,458,307, 5,488,793, 5,515,632, 5,678,699, 5,682,698, 5,899,011 and 6,163,996. These patents are cited merely as exemplary to illustrate the many and varied forms such devices can take.
More recently, in place of, or in addition to, such paper or plastic information containing labels, electronic information carriers have been employed. Electronic shelf labels (ESLs) are generally integrated with the in-store processor (ISP) or a free-standing controller that communicates with file information supporting the store's point-of-sale system. The ESL system may include low-voltage communication electronics or communication base stations (CBS) located in store ceilings away from the store operations. The ESLs are positioned throughout the store to identify an item's retail price and other information of interest to the consumer or for use by the store's inventory system.
Price changes may be initiated through the store's controller which updates item price files. This information, which has an association to a particular product identified by item number or UPC code, is communicated to the CBS in the ceiling and transmitted via a high frequency radio signal to the corresponding ESL.
The ESLs are programmed with differing addresses that are also associated with the item number or UPC code of the product they represent. Once the addressed device is found, the label display changes and reflects an acknowledgment back to the CBS to confirm that the transmission was received and enacted. This acknowledgment is then communicated back to the ISP to complete the transaction.
These systems, such as produced by NCR under its DecisioNet™ trademark, allow the ESLs to be independent of wires and cables below the ceiling, which reduces installation time and cost. Since there are no wires or cables required from the ceiling down, the label is free to be positioned anywhere. When store shelf resets occur, ESLs move easily with the shelves.
These ESL units, however, much like paper labels, require a carrier device to facilitate supporting them at selected locations, usually on the front of a store merchandise shelf. It is ESL carriers of this type with which the instant invention is concerned.
One such ESL carrier is described in commonly assigned, copending patent application Ser. No. 10/448,049 filed on May 30, 2004, entitled Label Holder for Electronic Labeling Devices, published Dec. 30, 2004 under No. 20040262470, incorporated by reference herein. The ESL holder in that application includes various mounting arrangements for orienting the ESL at different levels, i.e., straight, upward or downward, depending upon the particular shelf that the label holder is mounted upon. As such, the mounting arrangements have some complexity and attendant costs. See, also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,990. Fixed angle ESL holders are simpler and less expensive.
Because ESLs require a source of power, such as a battery, when an ESL is mounted in an environment that is subjected to moisture, such as adjacent refrigeration units, moisture can seep in through the battery cover and adversely affect the power source to the ESL. Thus, a need has arisen for some mechanism to prevent battery failure when used in moist environments.